One True Love
by peytona05
Summary: Tumnus is stricken with a serious illness, and Lucy is his only hope for survival. Rated T, just in case.
1. Chapter 1

She watched him as he slept with his head on her lap. He had fallen into a gentle but deep sleep a few hours before, and she'd begun stroking his hair with one hand while holding a cold rag to his forehead with the other. As she absent-mindedly continued these two simple tasks, Lucy thought back to the events of the previous week, the events that had nearly killed Tumnus….

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Prince Lorak of Kroywen bowed gracefully as he handed Lucy a bouquet of flowers. She curtsied as she nodded her thanks. Glancing at Peter, the young Queen could see her oldest brother's pleasure. He was hoping to form an alliance with Lorak's father, and Peter was convinced that an arranged marriage was in the best interest of everyone involved.

Lucy, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. As Queen, she had to do whatever was necessary to protect her subjects, but as she walked around Cair Paravel with Prince Lorak, introducing him to various Narnians who had joined their rulers to celebrate the Summer Solstice, she remained on the lookout for the one who was causing her reservations.

Tumnus approached the pair with a smile on his face, but when he was introduced to Lucy's walking companion, his expression changed to one of confusion and slight disappointment. Although Lucy wanted to know what was bothering her friend, it would have been rude to leave Lorak. Instead, she smiled and gently squeezed Tumnus' hand. "Don't leave. We'll talk later."

As soon as the Prince left to return home, Lucy went in search of Tumnus. She found him on the balcony where she and her siblings had been crowned. His back was to her, and she stood watching him a moment before joining him in watching the sunset.

Tumnus was her dearest friend, and had been for many years. But somewhere along the way he had become much more. However, because of Lucy's royal status, she couldn't tell him how she felt. Not only for the sake of the alliance, but because she was never sure how Tumnus felt for her. Over the years the two friends had talked about a great many things, but personal relationships, for whatever reason, had never been one of them.

"Ready to have that talk?" she asked, trying to sound cheerful.

Tumnus turned his head to look at his friend, squinting to keep the fading sun out of his eyes. "Is there something that you're not telling me?" Draping one of his arms across her shoulders, taking his hand in her own, and leaning in close, Lucy decided to go straight to the heart of the matter. "Do you remember the alliance I told you about? With the King of Kroywen? Well, Peter thinks he may have solved our problem."

"How?"

"An arranged marriage. I'm leaving in the morning to spend a few days in Kroywen, and if things go the way Peter hopes, I'll be moving there…permanently."

He pulled away. "What? No." Tumnus paused as he licked his lips. "I mean, you can't."

"Why not?" This was not how she'd wanted their conversation to go. Lucy took a deep breath, then continued. "I don't have a choice. While Kroywen has never been a major threat to Narnia, they are threat enough that we need this to happen."

"You _do_ have a choice! You don't have to do this—tell Peter no. There must be another way."

"You would do well to remember whose presence you're in. We may be friends, Tumnus, but never again attempt to speak to your Queen in such a manner!"

Lucy couldn't believe that he'd yelled at her. It came as even more of a shock that she'd yelled back, but for the first time in her life, she couldn't bring herself to apologize. As she turned and walked away, Lucy thought she heard Tumnus crying.


	2. Chapter 2

"How long has he been like this?" Queen Susan whispered anxiously.

Mr. Beaver shrugged as he glanced over his shoulder. "It's hard to say. The missus and I only found him last night, but it's advancing quickly. Where did you say your sister was?"

"In Kroywen; she's been there for three days." She moved quickly and quietly to the Faun's side. "And besides, anything Lucy might have been able to do for him, I can do just as well."

As she gazed more closely upon her sister's friend, Susan noticed the horrible blisters that had formed on his face, arms, and chest. "Mrs. Beaver, were these here when you found him?"

"We noticed them this morning. The ones on his back have already popped. The fever is what caused them." The small, furry animal watched as the elder Queen gently placed her hand on Tumnus' forehead and jerked it away. "No matter how hard we try, Beaver and I can't get it to come down. We tried cool rags, but he threw them away. When we placed his bed clothes on top of him to help break the fever, he kicked them off. We tried again, but all he said was to 'let me die, let me die.'"

"We have to keep trying. Lucy is due home at noon tomorrow, and I don't want her coming back to the death of her best friend." She sighed. "I'm going to need Edmund's help. Mr. Beaver, please tell the trees to pass the message along. Mrs. Beaver, bring me the rags that you used last night and this morning, as well as a bucket of water. Oh, and look in the satchel on my horse, Mr. Beaver. There is some ointment in there."

The items were swiftly brought, and as Susan placed the rags in the water, she asked, "Now is there anything else that I should know before I begin?"

The Beaver couple glanced at one another, and Mrs. Beaver spoke hesitantly. "Tumnus fell into a fitful sleep about two this morning; he tossed and turned throughout the entire respite—that's what burst the blisters on his back. But in his delirium, he called out one name over and over again: Lucy."

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"I want to know what this is. What caused it?"

"Ed, I'm not sure I'm ready to hear where it came from. It's been a rough day, and we're lucky that we finally were able to get him to settle down. Each time we touched him, even if it was simply to replace the rag, Tumnus cried out in pain as if we were trying to kill him." Susan looked at the bare chest beside her. "Another blister has popped; hand me the ointment, will you please?"

Edmund did as he was asked. "Lucy's coming home tomorrow; if anything happens to him, I don't want her to find out from anyone but us. Whether or not we want to hear the truth is not the issue; we _need_ to."

With that, he poked his head into the parlor and asked Mrs. Beaver to join them, hearing his sister behind him telling Tumnus that everything was all right, that she was only putting some ointment on another sore. When Mrs. Beaver entered the room, Edmund pointed at the Faun and said, "Tell me what happened. Why isn't he getting any better?"

The Lady Beaver spoke softly and slowly. "Well, if you must know, then I suppose I have no choice but to tell you. As you know, Fauns are quite friendly and gentle, but they can also be a bit shy and sensitive, especially in matters of the heart. As with any other, a Faun male does not appreciate rejection, but he will take it much more personally. Now, please keep in mind that I'm not sure, but I think that may be what's happened with Tumnus. It's known as the _Faun's Disease_, and though it isn't contagious, even among Fauns, it's extremely dangerous, and almost always fatal. In reality, it is a broken heart, caused by unrequited love. Physical symptoms are such as what we've seen in Tumnus—a high fever that won't come down, fever blisters, fitful sleeping, and…the heart-wrenching calls for the one they love."

Edmund and Susan looked at one another, knowing what their sibling was thinking. "Lucy," they said in unison.

Mrs. Beaver nodded solemnly. "When we initially sent word to Cair Paravel, Tumnus hadn't yet begun to call for her, but my husband and I knew that she would like to be here with him. He called for her during the night, as I mentioned earlier"—motioning to Susan—"and that's when I began to wonder."

Susan dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. "So what you're saying is, there's nothing that can be done. He's going to die."

"Almost nothing. To be honest, there's nothing that we can do. Lucy is his only hope."

Edmund looked at Tumnus, then back at Mrs. Beaver. "I'm not sure I follow. What do you mean?""Lucy _must_ return Tumnus' love for her. She has to come to him willingly, and love him back."

Susan shook her head in disagreement. "He knows Lucy loves him. He's been her best friend for as long as we've been in Narnia. She would be here if she could."

Mrs. Beaver opened her mouth to respond, but as she did so, Tumnus went into another feverish fit of violent tossing, turning, and moaning. As the young King and Queen set about the task of calming the Faun down, their small, furry friend gently placed the back of her paw against his forehead. "His fever has shot up. If your sister doesn't come through for him, Tumnus will most certainly die."

"How long does he have?" Edmund asked.

"Less than twenty-four hours."


	3. Chapter 3

Nearly falling off of his horse Philip, Edmund quickly strolled about Cair Paravel in search of his brother. Finding Peter walking along the beach, Edmund fell in step beside him.

"He's doing worse, and Mrs. Beaver says he won't make it."

"There's nothing we can do?"

Edmund was silent for a moment. "There's something you can do: Call off the marriage. Tumnus loves Lucy, and I know she cares for him. She's his only hope."

Peter stopped in his tracks. "I can't do that. If this marriage doesn't happen, we risk losing the alliance with Kroywen. We need that."

"Then you have sentenced Tumnus to death. If any of us were to let him die, we would risk losing Lucy's respect for our authority. She's our sister; we need _her_. You may be the High King, but this is one time I think you should worry more about what's best for your family that your people."

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Lucy galloped up to her home and saw Peter coming to greet her on his own horse. But as he got closer, she realized that instead of a smile, his face was wearing a look of urgency.

"Don't get off, Lu. We need to leave for Tumnus' cave." Not waiting for Lucy to turn her horse around, Peter quickly began in the direction of the Faun's home.

She struggled to keep up. "Peter, what's wrong? Is everything all right?" When her brother didn't respond, Lucy wondered if he had heard her. She opened her mouth to repeat the question, but then she thought better. _He heard me; otherwise he would have answered._

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Lucy entered the bedroom swiftly but silently, and her friends and family parted before her as if they were the Red Sea opening before Moses. Susan rose from beside Tumnus in order to make room for her sister.

The younger Queen sat next to her friend, and with tears streaming down her face, she wanted to know what had happened to cause the illness that was now plaguing the Faun.

The tears fell harder as the sickness was explained, and Lucy began to wish that she hadn't spoken so harshly to Tumnus the last time they were together.

_I should have told him the truth, that I don't want to marry Lorak, that I only want to be with him. He's dying because of me._

As gently as she could, Lucy moved to the head of the bed, placing Tumnus' head on her lap. One by one, the others left the room, and soon the Queen and the Faun were alone. As Lucy began running her fingers through his hair, she whispered, "How could I have been so cruel? Why didn't I go back and apologize? You deserved to know the truth. Now you're dying, and all you ever needed was to know how I feel."

Tumnus began tossing and turning fitfully, and as Lucy stopped stroking his hair and reached for a wet rag, she heard him murmur something.

"Lucy."

Placing the rag gently on her friend's forehead and starting once again to stroke his hair, Lucy crooned, "Shhh, you're all right. I'm here."

Tumnus eventually calmed down, and as he settled into a deep but gentle sleep, Lucy continued her two simple tasks. Watching her friend sleep, she felt herself getting drowsy, and the young Queen soon drifted off to sleep.


	4. Epilogue

The peaceful sound of her breathing brought comfort to Tumnus. In the short amount of time that he'd been awake, his eyes had not left Lucy's face. The once-wet rag had long since slipped from between her hand and his forehead and landed on his shoulder, and except for the blisters, he would have removed it. The blisters hurt badly enough that Tumnus couldn't lift his arms; the rag would have to remain in its current location until Lucy awakened.

Just as the Faun felt himself drifting off to sleep again, he noticed the rag was being lifted from his shoulder. Slowly, Tumnus rotated his head to once more gaze upon Lucy's face, and when Lucy discovered her friend watching her, she smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. I ought to have gone back and explained." Lucy began stroking his hair for the third time.

Tumnus whispered hoarsely, "I don't understand. What are you doing here? How come you aren't in Kroywen?"

Lucy hesitated. "I can't marry Lorak. I can't and I won't. It wouldn't be right for me marry him, when I only want to be with you."

Yawning, Tumnus smiled faintly as he closed his eyes. He felt Lucy's fingers touch the tip of his ear, and he looked at her again.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't worry about it. Go to sleep, Tumnus; I'll be here when you wake up."

He did as she asked, and Lucy continued on with her task. She kissed two of her fingers, then placed them on Tumnus' other ear; his left eye, followed by his right; his nose; his chin; both cheeks; and finally, his forehead. She realized that his fever had finally broken.

After kissing her fingers one last time, Lucy then placed them atop Tumnus' lips, assuring them both that they were indeed the other's one true love.


End file.
